Lock mechanism



March 29, 1932. NEAL 1,851,207

LOCK MECHAN-ISM Filed Oct. 24, 1929 INV EN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

, Patent d Mar. 29,1932

' rugged and can withstand an exceptional j amount, I of abuse" Without getting out of:

order." T he design is such' that the parts can ELME E. nEAnoiNEw HAVEN, CONSECTICUm ASSIGNQR T0 PEERLESS HAN GUFF V coMPAn or SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, At coRroRA'rIoN ormnssaorwsnr'rs IlocK. ME'cHnNIs Application fi1e 1'0ct0her24,' 1929. Serial ,No. 462,190.

t This invention relates to anjimprovement in lock mechanismparticularly designedto restrain the movements of a prisoners vlimbs as used in handcuffs,thurnb'-cuiis, leg; irons,

and any such devices used by ofiicers;

According to one. feature oithe I invent on, a novel mechanism is provided which 1s very be made and assembled Without requiring any nice arskillful fitting; operations; Other ,features oit' novelty and utility Will be ap parent from the detailed description and an'- nexedvclaims.

The"invention: 1s shown, for purposes of illustration, in the form of a handcufl where its features find particular utility.

In the drawings-' Fig. 1 is a plan vlew of one of alpair of handcuffs embodying theinvention. In this;

-, view the lock casing has one of its side plates removed to expose the parts 'of the lock v v r p r The'key'lfiis inserted through a key holein mechanism in their assembled relation;

- Fig? a w offhe filler pie e hav ng vrecesseswi various movable parts of the mechanism;

,FigPB isa der' V v c I Fig; 5 is a detailviewof the cvlinder catch Fig. 6 is a cross section of Fig". 4 pn line F 6-6; and p V Fig. 7 is a view of one form of key that mav operate the lock. J

i The handcuff is preferablymade up of a double arm chalf comprising'spaced frame,

members 1 and'2. The locking arm 3 is pivoted at at bet'vveenarms 1 and 2." Between thelatten at the end opposite pivot/i a filler piece5 isjriveted. This piece 5 with portions of'arms 1 and 2:serving as side plates form ethe lock casing Arm- 3 has a peripheral arm 6 -to sweep. by thetop'vvali'ofthe locki,

-- toothed arc portio'nG struck from pivot 4' as a center. With thisconstruction it is clear that arm 3 maymove (counterclockwise) for casing and it may; continue allthe' Way'- around and repeat-sojlong as no Wrist is em braced. It is for thisfform of'handcufi 8 at theqbottom of the recess. "Thespring detail view of the spring latch Fig. 4' is a detail view of the lock cylin- I inside, of the cylinder'bv'which'it gets a'pur "chase to turn cylinder llinits bearings. The v turning has to overcomethe friction of detent andwwhen tooth13 engages 11191 9, alsocithe' resistanceo fthelatch spring. .When turned r for enough; detent -15eng'ages recess li zyvi'th enough pressure to hold latch [depressed without pressure from the key. Thus the key my. invention is particularlyuseful.

spring latch 7 mounted against coiled spring tends to keep the'latch in positionto engage casing and to thus permit one line of movement for arm 3 by ratcheting against" the that Thefiller pieces 5 has a recess to receive the i i the teeth'ot are 6 as thelatter passes the lock into a circular recess 10 of the lock casing wherebythe key operated: part may draw the latch back and release arm 3" to unlock "a :The recess 10 ispreferably circular and the of the side plates'of the lock casingto rotate cylinder 11 v'mount'ed by tenons 12, one engazed in a suitable recessed bearmgin each l3 adantedto-engage lu'g'fi, and also a little, recess 14 in its periphery to be engagedby a spring-pressed ,detent 15; 1

one of 'the'side plates and preferably has a s de plate to get a good bearingfor turning;

Thev-kev is adanted to strikea h1g 1T'aon the can be used to pull the latchidown to ad point;

vvhere'jit will stay and the oflicers handsare thenf-reeto piillarm 3 back-tofree the-prison er swristc ,Anotherjpin oi" lug attheop- .po sitesideiofth key requires the cylinderto I he rotated back to its original positionvvher'e the parts areready forspring latchingbefore thekey can be lined up ith-the key hole and removed; Thi1si the ofiicer necessarily resets the mechanism afteneachunlocking opera i tionfbecause hemust dothat before Ihecan remove the key; And he always 1 removeszthe' 10o 7 onthe second side plate, and rivet the two side plates together with filler piece between. To hold cylinder 11 in proper relative position I may provide another per'pheral notch like 14 for engagement with detent 15 when the parts are in latching position for the key to be inserted. y

From the description and drawings it can be seen that I have provided a rugged lock casing and locking means that can stand a great deal of abuse without danger of getting out of order. The lock casing is almost a solid rigid piece, since it has only recesses for the necessary and small movements of each related part. At no part of the lock casing is there any substantial hollow portion that leaves'the walls relatively weak or susceptible to being crushed in by a blow from the outside. On the contrary there is such a rugged arrangement of completely supported parts that the whole mechanism would withstand hammer blows about as well as if the bulk of the lock casing were of solid material. Furthermore, the locking parts are so arranged that there is an extremely small possibility of any of them being pounded out of properly functioning position and condition. These advantages and others are attained by an ex tremely simple coordination of partswh ch is novel withrespect to the easy manufacture and desired utility of this type of lock mechanism; i

What I claim is:

of the filler piece for engagement and rotation by a key, a spring pressed latch reciprocable in a straight line about tangent to said rotatable member and having a part engageable thereby for retraction against the spring pressure, teeth on said locking arm engageable by said latch to permit movement of said arm past the lock casing only in one didirection until the latch is moved back against its sprin 4. A prisoners shackle comprising two parallel spaced arms, a locking arm pivoted between the ends of the spaced arms, a filler 7 piece fastened between the arms at the opposite ends and form n with them a lock casing, a rotatable member mounted in a recess of the filler piece for engagement and rotation by a key, a spring pressed latch reciprocable in a straight line about tangent to said rotatable member and having a part engageable thereby for key. action against the spring latch ressure, teeth on said locking arm engagea le by said latch to permit movement past the lock cas ng only in one direction until the latch is moved back against its spring, and a spring detent adapted to hold the rotatable member when the key has oper- .ated it to hold the latch against its spring.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature. I ELMER E. NEAL.

1. A prisoners locking device comprising a claspinn means formed of pivoted arms hav ng alock casing and mechanism to permit complete rotation in one direction only. said mechanism including within the lock casing a spring latch movab e only in a straight line, a rotatable key operable part to release the latch, and teeth on one of the pivoted arms arranged to ratchet bv said latch in one direction and be stopped therebv n the other direction, and a spring detent to relcasably bold said rotatable part in latch releasing position.

2. A prisoners clasping means includ ng a lock casing, a rotatable key engaaeable member in the casing, a spring pressed latch, cooperating lugs on said member and latch by which a rotat on of the former will move the latch out of operable position. a spring pressed detent to hold the said parts in said last named position.

3. A,prisoners shackle comprising two parallel spaced arms, a locking arm pivoted ween the ends of the spaced arms, a filler si teends and formin 'with them a lock caspiece fastened between the arms at the oppolil 

